Yesterday in the Yukon Legislative Assembly all members of the Liberal Caucus, and one Yukon Party MLA, did not support Bill 19, the Electoral District Boundaries Act.
This bill represents recommendations from the Electoral Boundaries Commission, which was established in May 2017 to review the boundaries, numbers and names of our electoral districts.
The bill proposed the creation of a new electoral district, bringing the total number of MLAs representing Yukoners from 19 to 20. It also proposed substantive changes to eight electoral districts and minor adjustments to another four.
Members of the Liberal caucus took time last summer to speak with Yukoners about the Commission’s proposed changes and we heard concerns mostly on two different issues. One was a lack of consultation on adding a 20th MLA and the other was a lack of demand for more politicians.
Our Caucus truly appreciates the work of the Commission, but does not feel now is an appropriate time to grow government.
Statement from Premier Sandy Silver on the Electoral Boundaries Bill
“Yesterday in the Legislative Assembly, Bill 19, the Electoral District Boundaries Act was defeated.
Now is not the time to add a politician in the Yukon. Now is the time for Yukon’s elected officials to dedicate themselves to their responsibilities and work hard on behalf of their constituents.
A 20th riding was introduced very late in the process after the vast majority of consultation had occurred without this notion being part of the discussion. The dramatic changes from the interim report to the final report are concerning.
Yukon ridings have small numbers of voters. Adding a 20th riding would further reduce the number of voters in each riding. Considering this, we did not vote to accept Bill 19.
We are very grateful to the commission for its work on this issue and we appreciate all Yukoners who made time to comment on the proposed plan or attend meetings on this issue.”
